Iran Warns of Political Purposes after ‘Suspicious’ Incidents in Persian Gulf

In a statement on Tuesday, Saeed Khatibzadeh described as totally suspicious the reports of successive security incidents involving vessels in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, warning against any effort to create a vicious atmosphere to pursue certain political goals.

He also reaffirmed Iran’s policy of establishing security and stability in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, stressing that the Iranian naval forces are prepared to provide support, if needed, to vessels that send distress signals while passing through the strategic waters of the region.

“In case of problems in navigation systems, the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to provide assistance and investigate the matter closely,” he added, according to the Foreign Ministry’s website.

He further expressed Iran’s preparedness to cooperate with the regional countries to boost maritime security and monitoring of naval transit routes.

In a separate interview with Tasnim on Tuesday night, Khatibzadeh dismissed rumors about the entry of Iranian military forces into foreign ships passing in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, warning against such false reports propagated by the Western and Zionist media.

The comments came after the UK sources reported the “potential hijack” of a British vessel off the coast of the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah region.

British authorities claimed that the Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess oil tanker had been hijacked, and said they were “working on the assumption Iranian military or proxies boarded the vessel” in the Gulf of Oman.

Khatibzadeh categorically rejected as “untrue” the reports circulated by Western and Israeli media about the involvement of Iran’s Armed Forces in the incident, Press TV reported.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman also called on all parties to be vigilant against the spread of fake news, given the contradictory news about maritime security in the region.